2015 NFL Draft: The Picks And Classes I Didn’t Like

Arik Armstead was chosen 17th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2015 NFL Draft

I’ve highlighted the best of the draft, now it’s time to take a look at the teams I thought didn’t get it right. Some of the usual suspects (Jets, Browns, Oakland) won’t be mentioned this time around because I thought they made some pretty good picks overall.

Who made the worst list? Let’s see…

Worst

Washington Redskins

No offense to Brandon Scherff, but I thought the Redskins missed a really nice opportunity to upgrade their defense.

When the Jaguars passed on Leonard Williams with the 3rd overall pick I thought the Redskins were primed to take advantage. I had written before that Williams being there for Washington at pick 5 would be the gift of a lifetime for a franchise lacking young, elite talent on the defensive side of the football.

Choosing Scherff isn’t a mistake; it’s a Redskins mistake.

Washington is banking on a lot of “projects” to pan out. This isn’t a team that has the luxury of passing on talented players available to them. Especially for a defense that allowed the 3rd most points in the NFL in 2014 in a division with two of the top five offenses (Eagles-3, Cowboys-5) and three of the top 15 (Giants-13)

Carolina Panthers

You think the Carolina Panthers are confused? They chose a projected second to third round linebacker with the 25th overall pick (Shaq Thompson); Traded up for a projected third to fourth round “Flex” Tight End in the second round with the 41st overall pick (Devin Funchess); and then traded up 22 spots in the fourth for a projected fifth round Guard who might not even start day one.

I get what we’re doing here is conjecture, but Carolina reached in every round except the fifth in hopes that they outsmart the room. I don’t know about you but the only move I liked was selecting Cameron Artis-Payne in the fifth round for running back depth.

San Francisco 49ers

Patrick Willis (LB), Chris Borland (LB), Ray McDonald (DE), Chris Culliver (CB), and Parrish Cox (CB) are all gone for the 49ers on defense. Michael Crabtree (WR) and Frank Gore (RB) departed from the offense. So you would think they would look to replace some of that production.

Think again.

Arik Armstead might turn out to be a fine NFL player but I don’t see it. I see a big Defensive Tackle who is starting off as a project and was an absolute reach at pick 17 with both the best corner (Marcus Peters, Washington) and a top option at Linebacker (Bud Dupree, Kentucky) available. Their best pick was Eli Harold from Virginia in the third round, but outside of him the 49ers took on projects when they don’t have that luxury right now.

I think the best way to sum up their draft is with their 179th pick (FIFTH ROUND): They chose Bradley Pinion from Clemson.

He’s a punter.

Other picks I Disliked:

Dante Fowler, Jr. (Florida), Linebacker, Jaguars, 3rd overall– I can’t justify them passing on Williams for Fowler. I like Fowler as a player, and the Jaguars will sell us on preference. But unless their preference is not taking the consensus best overall player in the draft then I don’t know what to tell you.

Trae Waynes (Michigan State), Cornerback, Vikings, 11th overall– I thought he was overrated. Plain and simple. There were other options here the Vikings could have chosen and I might have been okay with them (especially DeVante Parker); but they chose none of them. I didn’t get it.

Cameron Erving (Florida State), Center, Browns, 19th overall– Currently on your roster the Browns have a center and a left tackle for the foreseeable future. Erving plays both of those positions. Head scratcher doesn’t begin to describe this pick.

Phillip Dorsett (Miami), Wide Receiver, Colts, 29th overall– Dorsett has everything you want in an incoming receiver prospect…except a team with room for him. This is either a move to let us know T.Y. Hilton won’t be around much longer or that Donte Montcrief and Duron Carter are already making the Colts nervous about their receiving corps.